Stand-up comedian Micah “Katt” Williams was a no-show Thursday morning at his arraignment in Seattle Municipal Court. But he had an excuse.

Williams’ attorney, Thomas McAllister, told the judge his client was under the impression that he did not have to appear at the arraignment and has returned to California, where he lives. McAllister said that Williams read a Seattle Times story earlier this week in which a spokeswoman for the City Attorney’s Office mistakenly said that he did not have to appear if an attorney was in court on his behalf.

Later Thursday, Williams was charged with three misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree assault stemming from two incidents in Seattle last weekend.

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According to the charges, Williams struck a man over the head with a microphone during his performance Friday night at the Paramount Theatre. Williams was allegedly angry that the man was recording his show.

Early the following morning, Williams threw a chair at two fans who were trying to meet him after the show, according to the City Attorney’s Office. An investigation into a possible harassment is still ongoing, law-enforcement officials said.

Also Thursday, Carlos Castro-Lino, the man Williams is accused of striking with a microphone, filed a lawsuit against the comedian and Seattle Theatre Group (STG), the organization that runs the Paramount Theatre.

Castro-Lino, of Kent, said he was seated in the third row when Williams walked off the stage and into the audience. Williams, according to the suit, positioned himself behind the man and “without warning” struck him in the back of his head with his microphone.

“One witness described the assault as a baseball swing,” the lawsuit said.

After striking Castro-Lino, Williams returned to the stage and told the man that he should “go home and get a gun” because Williams would arm himself and be waiting for him to return, according to the suit.

In the lawsuit, Seattle attorney Lee Rousso wrote that employees of STG witnessed the incident and heard the threats but did nothing to stop the show.

Afterward, Castro-Lino went to Valley Medical Center, in Kent, where he was treated for a concussion and contusions, the lawsuit said.

“Before the Nov. 30, 2012, assault, Williams had publicly demonstrated signs of mental instability that should have put STG on notice that Williams posed a danger to the audience,” the lawsuit read.

Castro-Lino is seeking at least $250,000 in damages.

A spokesman for STG said they had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. Williams’ representatives could not be reached.

Williams spent an eventful weekend in Seattle that included several alleged run-ins with people and a brief stay in the King County Jail.

One group of fans said Williams attacked them when they tried to take a photograph with him after his Friday show and he allegedly threatened a bar manager with a pool cue and flicked a cigarette at a woman’s face at the World Sports Grille the next day, police said.

Williams also is accused of being aggressive with officers who arrested him Sunday for investigation of obstruction, according to police.